Wednesday, September 30, 2015

I had a really great month financially in September. I was so blessed to be able to easily pay my monthly
bills well before their due dates and my mortgage payment was made two weeks
ahead of time. Simply by making that
mortgage payment just two weeks early is seriously impacting my principal
balance and will save me considerably on interest payments.

I made progress on my debt payoff goals as well as adding some to
savings. I received my annual statement
on one of my retirement accounts and was very happy to see the growth it has
made. I continue to add the maximum I
can contribute to my 401(k) twice a month.
I also got a cost of living raise at work.

I focused a lot of attention to some home improvement
projects. In order to stay on track with
my financial goals I knew that any projects would have to be completed on a
very tight budget or not at all. I was
very fortunate to accomplish several.

By using what I already had, shopping around and checking out a
home improvement thrift store I was actually able to accomplish more than I had
originally planned. We have two Habitat
For Humanity thrift stores in town and I was able to locate several items on my
list at one of those which ended up saving me quite a bit of money. In fact, I found a Kohler brand porcelain sink
to replace our worn out one in our upstairs bathroom for only $15. This find allowed me to complete an extra project
that was unplanned but definitely needed.
And for a fraction of the cost I had anticipated. The same sink at Home Depot would have cost
me $69.

Christmas gifts took a little bit of a back seat in lieu of all of the other
projects on the docket, but I did manage to acquire a few inexpensive items for
my girl's upcoming birthdays. So not a
total loss in the gift giving department.
I'll have to pull double duty next month to make up for my lack of
progress and get myself caught up.

The other thing I worked on was getting our pantry and freezer
loaded up for winter so my grocery budget flew right out the window. I got some fantastic buys which allowed me to
accomplish this task without going bankrupt.
The upside is I won't have to do much in the way of shopping in the next
few months which is the ultimate goal.
With careful menu planning and use of leftovers all of this food should
last quite a long time.

I managed to make my last tank of gas last five days longer than
the month prior which was nice. When I
filled up my tank this time I used my rewards points to save an extra 10¢ a
gallon and prices were down too so I saved quite a bit.

Yes, I am truly pleased with how last month went. Now on to kicking butt in October.

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

This month was a disaster for our meal plan but our meals were
anything but disastrous. Because I had
restocked our chest freezer and pantry for winter I decided it was important to
make sure and use up a collection of odds and ends in the house freezer as well
as to use up the meat in the chest freezer that was prior to my latest
purchases. I wanted to make sure nothing
got forgotten about and became freezer burned or wasted.

This time I went through my collection of cookbooks and my old
meal plans to get some new inspiration for October. I was getting the feeling that a lot of our
meals were becoming redundant. And while
I won't be able to get away with a complete change I did come up with quite a
few new things as well as stuff I haven't prepared for awhile. The girls will be happy as their favorites
are still included.

This is what we have planned for our meals next month:

Biscuits & Gravy, Fruit
Salad

Pepperoni Pizza, Garden
Salad

Split Pea Soup, Cornbread,
Lettuce Wedges

Pork Chops, Mashed
Potatoes, Onion Gravy, Peas & Carrots

Pasta Alfredo, Caesar Salad

Corn Dogs, Tater Tots,
Veggies & Dip

Cheese Omelets, Toast,
Fresh Fruit

Grilled Tuna Sandwiches,
Tomato Soup

Chili Con Carne, Corn
Muffins

Lasagna, French Bread,
Tossed Green Salad

Beef & Bean Burritos,
Garden Salad

French Toast, Ham, Sliced
Peaches

Tortellini Soup,
Breadsticks, Caesar Salad

Grilled Sirloin, Baked
Potatoes, Steamed Broccoli

Chicken Fried Rice, Egg
Drop Soup

Meatball Subs, Garden Salad

Ham & Cheese Quiche,
Fruit Salad

Cheese Pizza, Tossed Green
Salad

Clam Chowder, Garlic
Cheddar Biscuits, Lettuce Wedges

Beef Stroganoff, Egg
Noodles, Green Beans

Grilled Ham & Cheese
Sandwiches, Veggies & Dip

Breakfast Hash, Toast,
Apple Wedges

Chili & Cheese Stuffed
Baked Potatoes, Sour Cream, Steamed Broccoli

I incorporated a lot of use of leftovers this time. Not only will we make sure to minimize food
waste but it will also mean I will have fewer meals to cook and extra time to
focus in other areas.

Do you do any type of meal planning? What wonderful things do you have planned to
eat?

Monday, September 28, 2015

My oldest used up the last four strips of bacon in a package and some leftover tortillas to
make us all breakfast burritos for Sunday breakfast. They were delicious with our homemade
salsa. I have to say I really love how
much my girls enjoy cooking. So nice to
have someone prepare me a meal every once in awhile.

Our crisper drawer was empty. I had used up everything with the exception
of a quarter of a yellow onion. After
work on Monday I went to Fred Meyer and bought a fresh batch of produce. I was really happy to find 3 bags of Dole
salad mix marked down to 39¢ each. I
bought all of them for us and the chickens too.
Anytime I can find marked down produce to supplement my hen's diet I buy
it.

I received two packets of coupons in the mail from Fred Meyer. I also did a quick Fred Meyer online survey
and earned 50 bonus rewards points to use when I purchase my next tank of gas.

Tuesday evening I pulled out our old chipped and rusty bathroom
sink and installed the new (to us) sink I bought at the Habitat thrift
store. I was able to reuse our faucet as
it is still in great shape and all the plumbing fittings were still good
too. All I had to buy in addition to the
sink was a small container of plumbers putty and the can of Barkeeper's Friend
I used to clean everything up. A little
elbow grease really paid off in making it all nice. It looks fantastic!

Ta da!

Wednesday I completed a $5 home improvement project and I plan to
do another one very soon. I can't
believe I will complete both for less than $10.
So I'll be writing a separate post about it. Here's a sneak peek:

We made a trip to the library to turn in books we finished reading
and check out new ones. Anymore I find
it impossible not to have a good book around to read.

I veered off the meal plan again this week and used up a bunch of
miscellaneous items hanging out in the fridge and freezer. It has made for some interesting meals
lately. Amazingly after three weeks I
still have stuff in there to use up.

I composted coffee grounds, tea bags, eggs shells, grape stems and
onion skins. I harvested more tomatoes
from the garden. I gave the chickens our
kitchen scraps and some of our tomatoes.

Friday, September 25, 2015

Yikes! I can't believe we are talking only three months left until
Christmas Day. Holy Cow! Time is flying!

I've got a good head start on my gift list. Most of what I'm giving this year, as with
most years, is homemade so I pretty much have to get started early or I won't
get finished in time. I love to make
gifts for my friends and family and I try to make things I know they will truly
enjoy and use. Even with items I
purchase as gifts I try to make it something useful.

My goal every year is to get all of my gifts done and wrapped by
the end of Thanksgiving weekend. Then I
can focus on decorating, baking, parties, visiting and other holiday
celebrations. I don't enjoy shopping so
I really don't enjoy shopping when the stores are packed and chaotic at
Christmas. I do my best to stay out of
the stores during December and I don't do the whole Black Friday thing either.

I really enjoy making my own Christmas cards too and I love to
type up our annual Christmas letter and share the highlights of our year with
my friends and family members I don't get to see on a regular basis. I think it is a great way to update everyone. I will usually get my cards ready over the
Thanksgiving weekend, tuck a letter inside and address the envelopes. I even buy Christmas themed postage stamps
ahead of time to use.

We make decorating the tree an event each year by setting it up on
"Hors d' oeuvre Night". It is
a family tradition where we make lots of delicious snacks and appetizers to eat
while we decorate the tree. I also like
to include a nice dessert. My girls look
forward to this even every year.

Chewy Gingersnaps

Baking is a big deal for us at the holidays. We love to make our favorites and try a
couple new things too. Of course sharing
with friends, co-workers and loved ones is a must.

On Christmas Eve, after supper, we climb in the car and tour the
neighborhood to look at lights. When we
get home we hurry and check the internet to see where Santa is. Once he hits the east coast we hustle off to
bed so we are sure to be asleep before he gets to our house.

Thursday, September 24, 2015

Holy cow! This month I focused
some serious money and attention to stocking up the pantry and our chest
freezer for the upcoming winter. I began the month
with a $40.03 deficit. Now I have a BIG deficit
to carryover of $254.99.

The beauty is that
we are so well stocked now that I won't need to do much grocery shopping in the
coming months, which is the idea. Most
of what I plan to buy is fresh produce and dairy items. Now my goal is to finish out the year spending
as little as possible on groceries.

Our nonfood items
came in a at $0.00. That's right not a
thing. I had a $10 OFF $10 Purchase coupon at ShopKo and I used it to buy a 16#
bag of cat food that was on sale for $9.99.
Needless to say, it was FREE!

Here is the list of
all the food items I bought last month.
The items highlighted in red are my stock up items:

Groceries

$$$

Smoked sausage (2)

10.00

Sale

Italian sausage (4)

11.96

Sale

Lunchmeat (2)

4.00

Sale

Vegetable oil

1.99

Sale

Brownie mix (3)

2.97

Sale

Sirloin steak (4)

11.96

Markdown

Sirloin steak (4)

10.49

Markdown

Pesto

3.19

Romaine (2)

0.50

Markdown

Spinach

1.99

Lettuce

0.98

Cole slaw mix

1.29

Apples

1.40

Ice cream

3.99

Sale

Ice cream

2.50

Sale

Mushrooms

1.79

Sale

Milk - 1 gal.

1.99

B/S Chicken breasts - 25#

42.25

Sale

Pork sausage - 10#

19.10

Cash & Carry

Ground beef - 10#

32.94

Cash & Carry

Frozen vegetables (2)

7.68

Cash & Carry

Parmesan

5.73

Cash & Carry

Cheddar -5#

11.48

Cash & Carry

Onions - 10#

3.87

Cash & Carry

Seasoning sauce (2)

4.16

Cash & Carry

Sesame oil

2.08

Cash & Carry

Hoison sauce

2.09

Cash & Carry

Franks Redhot

2.20

Cash & Carry

Red curry

0.25

Cash & Carry

Tobasco - jalapeno

1.62

Cash & Carry

Tobasco - chipotle

3.67

Cash & Carry

Ground pork

2.18

Markdown

Ground pork

1.83

Markdown

Ground pork

1.73

Markdown

Pork chops

1.99

Markdown

Pork chops

1.94

Markdown

Pork chops

5.53

Sale

Pork chops

5.31

Sale

Spice packets

2.00

Sale

Canned tomatoes (6)

3.00

Sale

Milk - 1 gal.

1.99

Buttermilk - 1 qt.

1.79

Crackers (4)

5.96

Store Coupon

Cheese (4)

5.96

Store Coupon

Garlic bulb (3)

1.00

Sale

Lettuce

1.68

Cilantro

1.89

Cole slaw mix

1.29

Apples

1.43

Herbed cheese (2)

0.98

Grocery Outlet

Cheese spread

0.98

Grocery Outlet

Hummus (2)

2.98

Grocery Outlet

Cake mix (2)

0.50

Grocery Outlet

Cake mix (2)

1.98

Grocery Outlet

Frosting

0.99

Grocery Outlet

Baking chips (2)

4.98

Grocery Outlet

Coconut

1.99

Grocery Outlet

Mandarin oranges (2)

1.98

Grocery Outlet

Crackers (4)

5.96

Grocery Outlet

Pasta sauce (2)

1.00

Grocery Outlet

Olives (4)

3.96

Grocery Outlet

Breakfast bars

0.99

Grocery Outlet

Tortilla chips

1.59

Grocery Outlet

Cereal

2.99

Grocery Outlet

Hot dog buns (2)

1.76

Store Coupon

Cocktail sauce

2.99

Ramen - 24ct (2)

5.76

Sale

Soup - 24ct

11.76

Sale

Tortillas (2)

2.19

Sale

Macaroni & cheese (10)

5.00

Sale

Cake mix (6)

7.50

Sale

Milk - 1 gal. (2)

3.54

Store Coupon

Chicken stuffing (4)

2.00

Markdown

Tortillas chips (3)

3.00

Store Coupon

Total

$ 339.96

$339.96 ÷
30 days ÷3 people = $3.77 per person per day!

Do you stock up in the
summer in preparation for the winter ahead?
How did you save money on groceries this month? Were you able to find some good sales and stock
up on anything?